


Semper Vester

by SkylerABlack



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Minor Character Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Time Turner (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-08-23 07:30:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16614590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylerABlack/pseuds/SkylerABlack
Summary: It's been a year after the Battle of Hogwarts and, slowly, the wizarding world is starting to rebuild and move forward. As Hermione tries to figure out how to move past the scars of her past and the memories that still haunt her dreams, she starts dreaming and longing for someone other than Ron. Someone she thinks she can return from the veil. Her spell to bring back Sirius Black sets her on a new course in life where she learns that true love spans time.





	1. The Hidden Dream

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first dive into the world of fan fiction. I have been thinking about this story for awhile and I hope that I can do the story that's been bouncing around in my head justice.
> 
> Please be aware that there will be major character deaths, a slight deter from canon, and in the opening scenes Hermione will be dealing from PTSD from her torture with Bellatrix.
> 
>  
> 
> _**I'll be updating this once a week (usually on Sundays)._

_Come on baby_  
_This ain't the last time that I'll see your face_  
_Come on baby_  
_You said you'd find someone to take my place_  
‘Somebody Else’ by The 1975

 

**Chapter 1: The Hidden Dream**

It was always the same set of dreams each night. They began with her being back at the rubble of Hogwarts. The feel of the walls crumbling and shaking while her, Ron and Harry ran from room to room trying to find the last of the Horcruxes. In her dream, they always started at the Room of Requirement where Hermione would watch as Goyle shot the Killing Curse at her—’It’s that Mudblood! _Avada Kedavra!_ ’—and then she would turn to see Ron narrowly missing a jet of green light that Goyle then aimed at him. She always shrieked. She always cried. She always narrowly avoided death by a fraction of a second.

Even while asleep, Hermione knew what memory was going to appear next in her dream. After all, she lived through it once and dreamt of it every night since. Her body shook as silent tears fell down her cheeks.

The images of the Room of Requirement shifted in her mind and then settled on her watching Fred and Percy face off Death Eaters. She could see Fred laughing at something Percy had said, his head tipping back—’You are actually joking, Percy!’—before the air around them exploded. They had been grouped together, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and Percy, the two Death Eaters at their feet, one Stunned, the other Transfigured; and in that fragment of a moment, when danger seemed temporarily at bay, when Percy and Fred were embracing so tightly, Percy crying and apologizing, the world split itself wide open. The only thing Hermione could hear was screaming and crying. Debris and wreckage from Hogwarts, from their home, had her half buried in the corridor.

Suddenly, she felt cold air against her face and saw that where the wall to the castle had once been, she could now only see the sky. She felt Harry stirring next to her; his cheek steadily bleeding and Hermione looked down at her arm to see dirt mixed with blood running down to her fingertips. Slowly, she sat up struggling against the wreckage of the castle that had her trapped and then she heard it. It started off as a disbelieving shout before it turned into a cry that was unlike anything she had ever heard before. It was the kind of cry that ripped out your heart, an agony so strong, so gut wrenching, she had never been so scared in her life to find out who was making the noise. Why they were making the noise.

Harry grabbed her hand as they staggered over to the three redheaded men grouped together on the ground where the wall had blasted apart.

‘No — no — no!’ someone shouted. ‘No! Percy! No!’

She shivered in her sleep as the dream shifted once again. This time instead of the Hogwarts castle surrounding her, Bellatrix Lestrange’s face loomed over her own, ‘I’m going to ask you again! Where did you get this sword? Where?’ she bellowed, her dark eyes practically slits as she stabbed the knife deeper into Hermione’s skin.

'We found it — we found it — PLEASE!' She screamed. Her voice raw and eyes stinging from the tears that refused to fall. Her body shaking involuntarily from the aftershocks from the Cruciatus curse. Broken sobs escaped her lips as Bellatrix moved closer to her face, seeming to visibly delight in Hermione’s terror.

‘Are you scared, Mudblood? Are you scared of what I’m going to do to you? Scared that I’m going to kill you?’

Hermione gasped awake, heart pounding in her chest and hair sticking against her neck from the sweat she seemed to wake up to each night. She brushed away the tears from her face with the back of her hand, not wanting Ron to see that she had woken up crying again. However, he laid next to her in bed fast asleep. His bright red hair fell across his face and his gentle snoring filled the small room. Hermione smiled, shifting to her side to reach her hand out to brush the hair from his face as she waited for her heart rate to settle down.

She felt stupid still having nightmares as everyone else seemed to go about their lives as if they hadn’t been hunted down. She felt stupid still hearing Bellatrix’s words, still feeling her retched breath against her face asking if she was afraid of dying. But she didn’t die. Harry and Ron saved her. Dobby saved her. They always saved her, but never in her dreams. It was hard to imagine that it was all over. That the war they had been fighting their entire childhood was finally over. Harry, Ron and Hermione survived the war. The Golden Trio survived the hunt. Survived it all. And now, they were slowly trying to rebuild their lives in the aftermath. Harry with Ginny. Hermione with Ron.

She glanced at him again, smiling as his body twitched in his sleep until she leant forward to place a kiss on his forehead. He sighed deeply, instinctively reaching out to her, his arm wrapped around her waist bringing her closer into his body. She wished that she could talk to him about her dreams, about seeing Bellatrix, about having her arm cut open each and every night, about Percy, but Ron didn’t want to talk about it.

‘It’s over now, yeah? Can we please stop talking about it?’ he asked her the last time she brought it up. Shame and weariness distinct in his features. In a way, she understood why he never wanted to talk about Percy. It hurt too much. Fred was still dealing with his own guilt as he was standing where Percy had been moments before. But at least Fred wanted to talk to his family about it. His girlfriend, Angelina, even had him seeing a Mediwitch that specialized in trauma. But, Ron never wanted to discuss anything about the war. Never wanted to discuss anything about the deaths. Never wanted to talk about any of the events that happened to them over the past seven years. He shut down and shut Hermione out if she brought it up.

Sighing, she traced her fingertips over his mouth before lightly pressing her lips to his. She turned over, vowing to talk to Angelina in the morning about the mediwitch Fred went to see. Perhaps she should finally go see someone as well and maybe, just maybe, she’d stop dreaming about Hogwarts in ruins and Bellatrix and her scar … and Sirius Black.

Closing her eyes, Hermione drifted to sleep once more. Hoping her last dream would be pleasant like all the times before. And then, almost at once, he stood in front of her in a leather jacket, white t-shirt and dark jeans. Sirius Black seemed to be one of the only people she had met in the wizarding world that was more comfortable in muggle clothing than robes. His arms were crossed over his chest and as soon as he saw her, his mouth broke out into a wide smile.

It was like this every night, as if he was delightfully surprised that she was in his presence. His eyes wandered down her body and every part that he looked at, Hermione’s skin seemed to light up under his gaze. Curious to see what Sirius saw, she looked down at the dark purple sweater that seemed to not want to stay on her shoulders and the faded denim cut offs that seemed much too short. Every night it was the same outfit. Every night it was the same gleam in Sirius’ eyes, like he was drinking her in that Hermione couldn’t help but bask in. Every night they were in the same place, standing in what looked like a flat on Diagon Alley. She could see the twisting and turning of the road outside leading to Gringotts, the sun was beating down in the lounge where a plush red couch was pushed against a wall and a cream colored rug covered most of the hardwood beneath her bare feet.

Sirius stepped towards her, the click of his dragonhide boots against the floor was the only sound in the room. His dark hair was pulled back in a small leather band and Hermione could see the black ink of tattoos peeking out from his shirt. He was only a foot away from her now, and she tilted her head upwards to see his smokey gray eyes up close. Wondering why she never noticed when he was alive how they changed color in the light—sometimes appearing almost blue. The left side of his mouth quirked up as he looked at her, again, with something close to longing. As if he had been waiting his whole life for her.

‘Sirius?’ she whispered, not daring to speak any louder. Not wanting to wake up from this dream again. It was the only reason why she didn’t take Dreamless Sleep potion because she knew this would be taken away.

Slowly, his fingers brushed along her arm, rubbing slow circles over the scar that she hated so much. She could feel the tears building up and willed them away. Sirius placed a hand beneath her chin, running his thumb along her bottom lip before leaning in close to her ear:

‘ _Semper Vester,_ ’ he breathed before she woke up with a startled gasp as Ron snored loudly in his sleep. Hermione’s cheeks flushed and her heart raced, but this time not from fear. She delicately removed Ron’s arm from her waist and walked to the bathroom down the hall. Turning the faucet on, she splashed cold water against her cheeks before looking at herself in the mirror. It was only a dream, she told herself. So why did she feel so incredibly guilty?


	2. Intentions and Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to AbbottBlack for beta-ing and fixing my messy first half!

_I tried to say thank you,_  
_but I don't know if you heard me_  
_I know it wasn't your plan,_  
_to just be the one to hurt me_  
‘My Thoughts on You’ by The Band CAMINO

**Chapter 2: Intentions and Sacrifice**

Instead of going back to bed, Hermione quietly changed her clothes and secured her wand in the bag she never went anywhere without before walking down the long wooden staircase, where she could hear Harry already awake listening to the radio. She quietly passed the portrait of Walburga Black that was still permanently stuck to the wall and approached the lounge where Harry sat. She found him sitting on the couch with _A Guide to Being an Auror: Vigilance, Stealth and Strategy_ opened in his lap, one hand holding the book open while the other hand gripped his hair in obvious frustration.

Directly after the war, Harry, Ron and Hermione went to live at The Burrow. Hermione was staying there until she could talk with Kingsley about bringing her parents back home and Harry was waiting to get the approval from the Ministry to move back into Grimmauld Place. After Yaxley had latched onto her arm and was brought inside the Fidelius charm, the Death Eaters had destroyed the home with dark magic looking for evidence on where the trio could be and what they could be up to.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were hounded by journalists from _The Daily Prophet_ and _Witch Weekly_. They couldn’t go anywhere without someone stopping them for a picture; for a quote; for a signature on _The Prophet_ ’s ‘Tell All’ piece on the ‘Golden Trio,’ as they were now deemed. After two weeks of not being able to even go to Diagon Alley without being surrounded by a mob, new Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, administered Aurors to accompany the trio whenever they left the Burrow.

It had felt like old times being back in the cozy home that was always inviting and welcoming; however, after months of being on the run and sleeping in a small tent, the Burrow soon became too loud and overwhelming. At night, Hermione’s nightmares steadily got worse without the boys’ close proximity. It had taken a month for the ministry to rid Grimmauld Place of the lingering dark magic and release the manor back into Harry’s custody. He invited Hermione to come live with him, both not wanting to live in the old house on his own and to give the Weasleys back their home and time to heal on their own. While Ron didn’t live with them, he was often over to get some space from the grief and the constant people rushing in and out of his family’s home on a daily basis.

She smiled as Harry sighed dramatically, clearly re-reading a page over and over as his finger seemed to skim the same couple lines. ‘Morning,’ she whispered and chuckled when Harry jumped at her presence. ‘I can see that your constant vigilance needs some improvement.’

Groaning, Harry closed the book and rested his head against the back of the couch. ‘I don’t think I have slept more than two hours a night. They paired me with Auror Graves and he makes Mad-Eye look tame. He jinxes me at my desk at least five times a day and will Firecall my room in the middle of the night to make sure that I’m always on my guard.’

‘Why don’t you take your room off the Floo Network that way you can get some sleep?’ she asked taking a seat on the chair across from Harry. At her suggestion, he scoffed loudly.

‘Yeah, like he’d allow that. Graves would end up Apparating inside my room and probably use an Unforgivable for even attempting to close my Floo,’ he looked at the watch on his wrist noting the time before looking up at Hermione. ‘Why are you awake so early, by the way? Is your meeting with Kings today?’

Stifling a yawn, Hermione shook her head. She hadn’t mentioned her dreams to Harry either, as he had already taken on so much guilt from the war. Slowly, he was opening up more to everyone and not closing himself off like he used to. It seemed that having Ginny there for him to talk to was the best way for him to heal.

‘No, that's tomorrow. Just couldn’t sleep,’ she shrugged her shoulders.

‘Are you still having nightmares?’ he asked softly. Hermione looked up sharply and he quickly put his hands up in surrender. ‘Whoa, whoa. Ginny mentioned them to me. She’s been worried that you haven’t been sleeping well and knows that Ron isn’t … the best when it comes to this kind of thing. You know I’m always here to talk if you want? Or Gin said that she can get you the information from Fred’s Healer, if you’d like that.’

Hermione shifted uncomfortably, cheeks reddening at the mention of her nightmares. ‘I’ll think about it. I didn’t know,’ she swallowed down the lump in her throat, ‘that Ginny knew about my … nightmares.’

Harry shrugged and looked down at his hands before clearing his throat, ‘I’m sorry that I didn’t ask. I should have known that you might have been struggling. I figured Ron would have been the one you’d talk about it with.’ He ran a hand down his face before glancing back up at Hermione when he heard her chuckle softly. Quietly, she got up from the chair and kneeled in in front of him.

‘It’s not your job to save me. You’ve already saved the world. I love you and your big heart, Harry, but this isn’t your fault. Stop acting like it is,’ she reached out to squeeze his hand before standing back up. ‘But, I do think I’d like to talk to the Healer. It would be nice to talk to someone who wasn’t involved in everything.’

He nodded, stood up, and grabbed his Auror book off the couch. ‘Let’s go,’ he said, pointing his wand at the radio in the corner to shut off the music and stepping towards the fireplace in the corner.

‘Go where?’

‘The Burrow,’ Harry said as if this was the most obvious answer. ‘You said you wanted the Healer’s information, right?’

Before she could answer, Harry grabbed a handful of powder, threw it in the fireplace and shouted ‘The Burrow!’ and disappeared from sight. Sighing, she scribbled a note to Ron for when he woke up and followed after Harry. When she landed in the kitchen, Hermione quickly brushed off the soot from her shoes and stepped inside. The kitchen already smelled of sausages and she could hear Molly upstairs yelling at Arthur to hurry up. From the lounge, she could hear Ginny and Harry whispering back and forth and Hermione stepped closer to the room. Ginny stood in front of Harry with her arms crossed. Although she was a bit shorter than him, Harry seemed to shrink under her blazing gaze.

‘Did you give her Healer Daniels information?’ Ginny asked, quirking an eyebrow.

‘Not yet,’ he answered and sighed when Ginny’s eyes narrowed. ‘I know, Gin. I know.’

‘You know? What do you know? What am I going to do with you, Harry Potter? You know she was tortured and you don’t even ask her if she’s been having nightmares? She’s your best friend! Think of all the nightmares you’ve been having lately and you didn’t even think to ask?’ Steadily, Ginny’s voice raised with each question and Harry reached out for her. Before Ginny could smack Harry’s hands away, Hermione stepped into the room.

‘Ginny, thank you for protecting me, but it’s really okay. Seriously. I’m fine.’

Whirling around, Ginny pointed at Hermione, ‘Don’t give me that! You’re not fine. You put Silencing Spells around your bed every single night when you lived here. Don’t you dare say that’s not true,’ she raised her voice and waved her finger at Hermione when she saw Hermione about to object. ‘You’re my best friend and when I say something’s wrong, something’s wrong. And I’m sure my idiot brother hasn’t noticed at all.’

‘Which idiot brother?’ Ron said from behind Hermione as he came in clearing dust from his robes from the Floo.

‘YOU!’ Ginny bellowed, walking up to Ron and hitting him on the back of the head with her hand. Hermione looked back at Harry who was shaking his head with a slight smile on his face as he watched his girlfriend.

‘Oi! What was that for?’ he yelped, rubbing the spot on his head.

‘You know why,’ she voiced dangerously, eyes narrowed at her older brother. ‘Come on, Hermione. Let’s go find Angelina.’

Hermione trailed after Ginny, stopping to place a kiss on Ron’s cheek while he grumbled about being smacked too early in the morning for something he probably didn’t do. Stepping out into the back garden, Hermione saw Fred and George talking over a Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes form while Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell talked about the spectacular Wronski Feint the Holyhead Harpies seeker performed in the last match.

‘Angelina, can we talk to you for a moment?’ Ginny called from the door where her and Hermione stood. Angelina looked up, spotted the pair before smiling slightly and nodding. Hermione heard her say, ‘Be right back’ before walking towards the girls. When she approached, she looked at Ginny first who nodded before turning her attention to Hermione.

‘I take it you’re wanting to see Healer Daniels?’ At Hermione’s stunned expression, Angelina quickly pressed on, ‘Fred’s nightmares were really bad after everything and I can’t even begin to imagine what you all went through. No one mentioned anything to me, but I noticed similarities between you and Fred and when I brought my concerns up to Ron, he kind of … shrugged it off.’ Ginny huffed. ‘And, Ginny overheard him and said that she’d talk to Harry about it. Listen, I know everyone copes differently, but she has really helped Fred and I don’t think anyone should go through something like this alone.’ She glanced back at Fred where they all could see him and Katie laughing at something George had said. ‘Nine months ago, he wouldn’t even laugh at a joke and now look at him. I finally got him back.’

Reaching inside of her pocket, Angelina pulled out a purple and black card and handed it to Hermione. ‘When you want to make an appointment, tap it, say ‘ _appointment_ ’ and your name. It will come back with a date and time. I hope she helps,’ she smiled and turned to walk back towards the table.

Hermione looked down at the card where the words ‘Healer Daniels, Specialist in Trauma, Healing, and Cursed Maladies’ was written in gold script. Blinking back tears, Hermione looked at Ginny who smiled at her before reaching out to grasp her in a tight hug.

‘Please go and talk to her. I can’t stand to see you hurting like this anymore,’ Ginny begged, voice breaking. Pulling back, Ginny held Hermione at arm’s length and narrowed her dark brown eyes, ‘and if you don’t, I’m going to kick your arse before I kick Ron’s arse. Actually, I might just kick his arse anyway for being a bellend.’ Hermione laughed.

‘Have I really been that bad?’ she asked quietly, biting at the corner of her lip. Shaking her head, Ginny sighed and folded her hands across her chest.

‘No, but you haven’t been here. Not fully. You have this far off look in your eye sometimes and when you get that way, you start rubbing your …’ pausing, Ginny looked down where Hermione knew the words Bellatrix had branded her with eleven months earlier. Rubbing at her left eye before the tears would fall, Hermione nodded once more and looked at the card in her hand again. She reached for her bag to dig out her wand and tapped the card, ‘ _Appointment!_ Hermione Granger’ and the card glowed red before a date and time appeared.

 _Today. 11 o’clock._  
_St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.  
_ _Ask for Healer Daniels at check-in._

Hermione glanced at the watch Ginny had on her wrist. In a little less than three hours, she’d be meeting the Healer.

* * *

Hermione stepped up to the glass of the old department store and leaned close, ‘I’m here to meet with Healer Daniels.’ The mannequin nodded its head and Hermione stepped through the glass and entered St. Mungos. The crowded reception area was packed with people looking through old editions of _Witch Weekly_ and sighing heavily as they waited their turn. A young boy sat in the corner while his mom reprimanded him for taking her wand to transfigure himself into a cat. He sported fluffy black cat ears, whiskers, and kept sneezing. ‘You’re allergic to cats, Antony! Why in the name of Godric would you want to be one?’ his mother cried.

Hermione stepped close to the reception desk and smiled at the witch in front of her, who was glancing down at a piece of paper.

‘Name?’ the witch asked in a bored voice.

‘Hermione Granger,’ Hermione answered, leaning forward to not draw attention to herself. Looking up sharply, the witch’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

‘Merlin’s beard,’ she whispered before clearing her throat and shaking her head. ‘Er, yes, Miss. Granger, yes. Wow. How, er, how, how can we help you?’ The witch blushed and Hermione could see the quill she was holding was shaking slightly in her hand. Embarrassed, Hermione smiled trying to calm down the witch in front of her.

‘I have an appointment with Healer Daniels. I think I’m a bit early,’ she glanced above her where a large clock read out the time: 10:45. ‘Should I take a seat?’

‘That won’t be necessary,’ said a voice from behind her. Hermione turned around to face an older woman with short honey-colored hair and soft green eyes. She looked at Hermione with a kind smile and held out her hand. ‘I’m Healer Daniels. I’m really happy that you’ve decided to reach out. Do you want to follow me? I’m just down the hall.’

Hermione nodded and looked back at the witch behind the desk, who still had a slight Confunded expression on her face. Following Healer Daniels down the stark white hallway, Hermione looked at the portraits that lined the walls and as they passed Mungo Bonham, he winked at her.

‘You’ll have to forgive Tina. She gets a little starstruck but she means well,’ Healer Daniels smiled back at Hermione and stopped in front of a dark wooden door. ‘Now, before we enter, I want you to know that when you cross the threshold, you are agreeing to a Confidentiality Spell. This means that anything that is said in this room is between us only and I will never say a word of it to anyone unless you inform me that it’s okay.’

Surprised, Hermione smiled gratefully. Daniels nodded her head, tapped the doorknob and stepped inside. Quickly following, Hermione walked into the dark paneled room and looked around. There were two forest green sofas sitting across from one another with a black coffee table resting in between with a vase of white lilies in the center. Daniels crossed over to the couch and sat down. With a flick of her wand, she summoned a pot of tea, two cups, a black bound notebook and a gray feathered quill.

‘Would you like a cuppa?’ she smiled, looking up at Hermione while pouring herself a cup. Hermione walked to the other couch and sat down.

‘That would be great. Thank you,’ she swallowed nervously and clasped her hands tightly in her lap. Behind Daniels’ head were two windows mirroring the warm weather outside and between the windows sat a desk with an image of Daniels and a wizard dancing wildly in the frame. Turning to see what Hermione was staring at, Daniels laughed at the photo.

‘That’s my fiancé, Augustus. He is battier than a Vampire. He was actually the one who mentioned Mind Healing to me. He’s very interested in Muggles, you see, and explained they do something called therapy. I let him go on and on about it for an hour before I mentioned that my mom was a muggle,’ she smirked and winked at Hermione and reached across the table to fill up her tea cup. ‘Now, what brings you in today?’

Reaching for the now full cup, Hermione added milk and a lump of sugar before clearing her throat. She stirred the tea absentmindedly, trying to think of what to say. ‘Well, I’ve been having nightmares and I don’t know how to stop them.’

Nodding, Daniels drank from her cup and reached for her quill and notebook, ‘That seems pretty normal for someone who has been through what you’ve been through. What kind of nightmares are you having?’

‘It’s always the same,’ Hermione took a sip of her tea before setting it back down on the table. ‘Harry, Ron, and I on the run. Being back at Hogwarts during the war. Being … being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange.’

Daniels nodded and made a note in her notebook before looking up at Hermione, ‘Do you ever take Dreamless Sleep potion? Although I wouldn’t ever advise anyone to take it nightly as it’s highly addictive, no one would judge you for taking it.’

‘I … I don’t like taking it. The nightmares are bad, but some of them bring me comfort,’ Hermione whispered, flushing as she thought of her dreams of Sirius Black.

‘Can you explain what you mean?’ Daniels asked, interrupting Hermione’s thoughts.

‘You promise everything I say in here is completely confident?’ Hermione tapped her foot and clasped her hands in her lap tightly. Smiling slightly at her nervous reaction, Daniels nodded.

‘Yes, Hermione. Everything you say in here is completely confidential. I promise.’

‘This is so embarrassing. I can’t even believe I’m going to say this,’ she fidgeted in her seat and reached out with shaking hands to take another sip of her tea. ‘Every night I always dream of Sirius Black and I don’t even know why! I wasn’t ever close to him when he was alive. I mean, Merlin, he was Harry’s godfather, nothing to me. But, he always shows up as if he was waiting for me. We’re always in this flat on Diagon Alley. I can see the street outside and we’re just standing in the front room. He walks towards me and rubs the … the scar on my arm. I don’t know. It’s nice. It’s comforting, but,’ she paused trying to remember the last part of the dream. Trying to remember what he always said to her.

‘But what?’ Daniels cocked her head to the side.

‘He always says something to me but I’m trying to remember,’ she closed her eyes and recalled his face coming closer to her. How he would brush his fingers lightly over her skin before leaning close to her ear and whispering.

‘ _Semper Vester_ ,’ Hermione breathed and opened her eyes.

Daniels looked up in surprise, her mouth dropping open slightly with a bewildered expression passing over her face. ‘Sorry? What did you say?’ she asked quietly, eyes looking across Hermione’s face in confusion.

‘He always says ‘ _Semper Vester_ ’ and then I seem to always wake up afterwards,’ Hermione paused as Daniels’ eyebrows furrowed. ‘I don’t understand. Do you know what that means?’

Healer Daniels sighed deeply and set her quill down. Looking down at her notes, she seemed to hesitate, ‘What do you know about sacrificial magic, Hermione?’

Surprised, Hermione thought of the two instances she had knowledge of: Lily Potter’s sacrifice to save her son and Harry’s sacrifice to save everyone during the Battle of Hogwarts.

‘It’s a type of magic that people, most people at least, don’t even realize they are creating. Sacrificial magic is when one sacrifices themself to save another and their magic imprints itself on the person they saved.’

‘Exactly. An example, as you know, is what Harry did for everyone during the battle and his imprinted magic meant that spells didn’t have the desired effect You-Know-Who wanted,’ Daniels paused, seeming to hesitate before going on. ‘Some people believe that the magic can create an immense echo, something that appears in dreams. In your case, Sirius Black showing up every night in your dreams. In lore, it states that only a powerful kind of sacrifice can create an echo.’

‘What do you mean? Isn’t sacrificing yourself for another person powerful enough?’ Hermione asked, leaning forward in her seat.

‘Like any magic, it’s the intention behind it. The intention for some sacrifices can be stronger in some cases over others. If someone walked in here right now and tried to _Avada_ me but you put yourself in harm’s way to save me, your intention was being a good person. Your intention is that you don’t want someone to die. However, if someone tried to _Avada_ one of your friends or family and you put yourself in harm’s way, it’s because you love them and don’t want them to die. The intention is stronger. The sacrifice is much more intense.’

Hermione nodded before Daniels continued.

‘It’s also believed by some that there is a spell that can be cast for sacrificial magic. A spell to save someone,’ again she paused looking as if she were trying to think of a way to word the next part, but Hermione spoke first.

‘ _Semper Vester_ is the spell, isn’t it?’ Daniels nodded. ‘But why would Sirius be showing up in my dreams? Wouldn’t he be showing up in Harry’s? He sacrificed himself for Harry. He died trying to save Harry.’

‘Maybe so, but it seems the intention behind it was for you,’ said Healer Daniels quietly.


	3. Forever Yours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started writing this chapter, I had a lot of ideas and it started to get too large so I had to split it up. I hope you don't mind and I'll bring you a longer chapter this weekend. Let me know what you think!

_Baby if you could would you go back to the start?_  
_Take any fresh steps or watch it all fall apart, again?_  
‘Biblical’ by Biffy Clyro

**Chapter 3: Forever Yours**

After her meeting with Healer Daniels, Hermione apparated back to Grimmauld Place feeling confused and strangely excited. While she didn’t understand why Sirius kept showing up in her dreams, she at least had something she could now research. Stepping into the kitchen, she dropped her bag on the table and headed to the cooling cabinet to grab a Butterbeer.

‘So, how was it?’ A voice behind her asked and she turned to see Ron in his dark blue Auror robes leaning against the doorway.

‘It was good. Nice. It was nice talking to someone who doesn’t know about,’ Hermione gestured her hand around, ‘you know, all of this.’ He nodded and stepped closer to the table where she now sat, twisting the top off her drink.

‘That’s good. Fred likes her,’ he sat down across from her and studied her while she took a sip of the Butterbeer.

‘Yeah,’ Hermione spoke for a lack of anything to say. They both stared at one another, the silence between them lingering far longer than either of them knew what to do with.

‘Well …’

‘I …’ They both spoke at once and immediately stopped, smiling at the other with a nod of their head.

‘No, you go,’ they said in unison. Hermione laughed, ‘Seriously, Ron. Go ahead.’

‘I was going to say that I’m going home tonight for dinner. Mom is making lamb and Charlie is back from Romania,’ he ran a hand through his hair making the back stick up at the ends and Hermione noticed the lack of invitation.

‘Oh, okay. That sounds nice. It seems like forever since Charlie’s been home,’ smiling, she lightly tapped a pattern on the table with her fingers. Ron’s hand outstretched, as if reaching for hers, before moving to scratch at his forearm.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow?’ he asked standing up quickly from the table and stepping towards the fireplace.

‘Yeah, I have my meeting with Kingsley tomorrow morning at the Ministry. He said he talked to the Minister of Magic in Australia about locating my parents and needs me to come in,’ she shrugged her shoulders, standing up to join Ron next to the Floo.

‘That’s good. It’ll be nice for them to come home,’ he looked down at her and she put her arms around his waist to give him a tight hug. Her head rested against his chest as he slowly put his arms around her. It had been awhile since they touched. It was always a passing kiss to the cheek here and a hand squeeze there, nothing ever intimate. Hermione breathed him in, smelling the comforting scent of The Burrow and something distinctly _Ron_. He smelled of home. Smelled of their childhood.

‘Yeah, nice,’ she mumbled. It seemed that’s all they said to each other lately. How nice things would be. How nice it would be to go somewhere. How nice it would be to see certain people. How nice everything would be in the future. After another few seconds had passed, Ron let her go to turn towards the Floo and with a quick peck on the cheek, he disappeared into green flames towards The Burrow.

Sighing, she turned to find the leftover French onion soup in the cabinet Kreacher had made earlier that week and headed upstairs to her bedroom. The room once held the answers to the mysterious R.A.B. question but since her and Harry moved in—and with a little help from Molly Weasley—the dark green curtains that once covered the room of Regulus Black were now replaced with ones of white and light blue. A mahogany dressing table sat in the corner next to the floor length mirror she never looked at herself in. She stepped towards her nightstand and sat the bowl of soup down before turning to her favorite part of the room. Her bookshelves took up the entire length of the right wall. Books of every type, every genre, and quite a few Muggle books, lined the shelves. Stepping in front of them, Hermione took out her wand from her bag and said, ‘ _Acquiro: Sempter Vester!_ ’

Two books flew from the shelves, one quite large and the other small and slender, and landed in the middle of her bed. Each lay opened with a section highlighted from the Finding spell and she sat on the edge of her bed and grabbed the larger book that was nearest to her: _Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6_.

_Throughout the years, many have believed that there is a spell to reawaken the dead._

_As fairy tales and lore (see such works as The Tales of Beedle the Bard) will have you believe there is a way to do so, there has never been an instance in history where a wizard or witch has made a departed soul return to this life. However, there is a belief that if a wizard or witch has been imprinted upon and the departed soul has not fully left this world, one can use a sacrificial charm to bring the dead back to their original existence._

_'Semper Vester’ is said to be the incantation for sacrificial spells. While others have reported that this is only to recall lost love._

Hermione looked down at the book in her hands and shook her head. _‘If a wizard or witch has been imprinted upon and the departed soul has not fully left the world, one can use a sacrificial charm to bring the dead back to their original existence._ ’ But what did that mean for her? According to Daniels she had been imprinted on, but Sirius Black was dead. They all had seen him fall behind the veil.

 _The veil_. What was the veil? None of them had ever truly figured out what was behind the dais. It had always been a mystery to all of them, especially to Harry who took a lot longer to accept that Sirius was dead and wasn’t coming back. But, what if he could? What if he hadn’t ‘fully left the world’ as the book was suggesting, what if he was just beyond the veil?

Placing the book to the side, she picked up the smaller text that laid open. Looking at the cover, Hermione noticed it was an old latin dictionary she picked up over the summer between her third and fourth year. Skimming the page she found the entry:

_Semper Vester: Forever Yours_

* * *

It stood right in front of her. The archway gave Hermione a bad feeling but she couldn’t explain why. Harry jumped down to get closer and she grabbed out for him.

‘Who’s there?’ he called out to the room. He was looking at the archway in a peculiar way as if it was speaking to him.

‘Careful!’ she whispered, her arms breaking out in goosebumps. She wanted to turn back. They came here because Harry said Sirius was being tortured by Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries and now that they were here, she wanted to leave as fast as they could. Something felt off. None of this felt right. Her heart raced and throat tightened.

‘Sirius?’ Harry questioned steadily getting closer to the archway below, but Hermione had enough.

‘Let’s go,’ she said turning to head back up the stone stairs they all stood upon. Hours earlier, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Neville were all at Hogwarts being questioned by Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad. Now they had broken into the Ministry of Magic … into the Department of Mysteries and this room felt odd. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. ‘This isn’t right, Harry, come on, let’s go.’

Her voice was shaking as she turned back towards Harry and noticed him getting too close to the archway. Although there wasn’t anything ominous or oppressive about the structure itself, Hermione couldn’t help but wonder why Harry was so fascinated by it. Why was he getting closer to it and why was she so scared that he’d walk through it?

‘Harry, let’s go, okay?’ she cried forcefully. He half turned to look at her before agreeing, and then froze. Eyes transfixed on the dais.

‘What are you saying?’ Harry shouted and Hermione’s heart quickened once more. She could feel the tears pricking at the back of her eyes because whatever that archway was, it was dangerous. They needed to leave. She tried to shout but no words would come out. None of her warnings. None of her cries that this wasn’t right. Something was very wrong. She looked towards Ron who was no longer at her side and turned to seek out the others. No one stood around her. She was on the stone steps completely alone.

Tears falling freely, she looked towards the archway and noticed a veil that hadn’t been there before. Shaking, Hermione started walking slowly towards the veil that was flowing back and forth. There _were_ voices coming from the archway. Voices she had never heard before. Harry was right.

‘Hello?’ cried Hermione, stepping closer and closer. Then she heard it … his voice. ‘Sirius?’

The veil started shifting and morphing before her revealing a solid black door where the archway stood. Hesitating, she stared, heart pounding in her chest and then she stepped forward to place her hand on the silver doorknob. His voice called out to her again and before she could even stop to think what she was doing, Hermione turned the doorknob and stepped inside.

The room was exactly like it had always been. The tall twin windows overlooking Diagon Alley. The sun was casting shadows across the room and as she stepped further inside, the plush cream colored rug felt warm against her bare feet. Taking a deep breath, she looked down knowing already what she would see: denim shorts and a purple sweater. From the corner of the room, Hermione could hear Sirius’ footsteps and she looked up at him. He was walking towards her with that grin on his face and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling and walking towards him as well.

‘How are you here? Why are we here? Are you trying to tell me something? Please talk to me,’ the words tumbled out of her mouth and when she reached him, she rested her hands against his chest. She could feel his heart. Thump-thump-thump. He felt real. How could this be a dream if he felt so real under her fingertips?

‘Magic,’ he smirked and she looked up at him as his hands rested against her hips and pulled her closer into him.

‘No, I’m serious,’ he opened his mouth but she cut him off before he could speak, ‘don’t say it. I don’t understand. Is this real? It feels real. You feel real.’ To prove her point, she thumped his chest and he laughed reaching up to capture the hand before it hit him again.

‘Of course it’s real, MJ. I’ve always been real,’ Sirius rubbed his thumb against her hand and his smokey eyes swept across her face as if searching for someone. He sighed as if it wasn’t what he was expecting.

‘What did you just call me?’ she breathed, voice shaking not quite believing what she was hearing. ‘My mom is the only one that has ever called me MJ.’

‘Not yet,’ he said and stepped slightly back from her, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. ‘Are you ready?’

‘Ready for what?’ she asked nervously. Glancing down, she realized she was grasping desperately onto his other hand. Sirius smiled at the sight and brought her hand up to his mouth before gently grazing the inside of her wrist with his lips.

‘To save me,’ he said and she could feel his breath against her skin.

‘I don’t understand,’ her eyebrows furrowed and his eyes met hers before he leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

‘ _Semper Vester._ ’


	4. Save Me

_Her eyes invite you to approach_  
_And it seems as though those lumps in your throat_  
_That you just swallowed have got you going_  
_Come on, come on, come on_  
‘No. 1 Party Anthem’ by Arctic Monkeys

**Chapter 4: Save Me**

Hermione gasped awake and stared at the ceiling in the darkness. She laid there, letting her heart slow down as she tried to remember what Sirius had said in her dream. What did he mean? Save him? How on earth could she do that? She remembered how he brushed his fingers against her knuckles and her cheeks flushed. It had been so long since she had actually seen him in person that she forgot how handsome he was. It had been nearly three years since he fell beyond the veil but in her dreams, he looked fresh and whole and real. He always felt so incredibly real. Hermione rubbed a hand across her face as she felt tears and wondered why she missed this man whom she hardly knew so much. Why was seeing him and waking without him alive so incredibly painful lately?

The dreams with Sirius had started after he died. It was always him in that room with her. He never approached her back then, but would see her and smile when she was there … just looking at her. Gradually as she got older, he’d approach her in the dreams. Running his hands against her skin in an intimate way and looking at her as if searching for some sort of recognition across her face. After Ron left her and Harry on the run last year, the dreams happened almost nightly and she longed for them. It was as if her body and mind craved them. It wasn’t until the night of the battle at Hogwarts, when everything settled and they all fell into fitful sleep, that he finally spoke. His voice was low as he spoke and he gently held her face in his hand, swiping his thumb slowly against her cheek.

‘I miss you so fucking much,’ Sirius whispered and he looked at her so intently that she leaned into his touch. She never wanted to part with it but she always did. She always woke up and was reminded once more that Sirius Black was dead and he was never coming back.

Hermione turned on her side to note the time and realized that she had just enough time to shower and eat breakfast before she needed to rush to the Ministry to meet Kingsley. Kicking off the covers, she headed for the shower, turning on the water and slowly taking off her pajamas. She quickly glanced at herself in the mirror naked for what felt like the first time in years. Her hair was flattened on the side from sleep and her eyes looked tired and dull. However, it was the scars across her skin that drew her attention and made her shy away. It was the reason she hardly ever looked in the mirror these days—the thin scar across her neck where Bellatrix dug the knife into her flesh, the long purple scar that scattered across her ribs, the burn marks from the vault at Gringotts and the deep cursed scar running across her left forearm forever marking her as a mudblood. Turning away from the mirror, she got into the shower and quickly got ready to head to the Ministry.

Hermione stepped out of the fireplace into the bright spacious atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Along the wall of green fireplaces, people moved all around her heading towards their various offices. The sound of paper memos passed quickly over her head in a variety of colors all zooming across the room into different lifts. Walking to the reception desk, Hermione reached into her bag and handed her wand over for inspection (the wizard kept sneaking glances at her, trying to act like he didn’t realize who she was) before she was ushered to a corridor and told to wait for the minister.

As she waited for Kingsley, she looked at the portraits hanging on the wall she stood before. Above them the words ‘ _Although they may be gone from this life, they survive on in our magic_ ’ were written in dark blue lettering. The portraits of the fallen soldiers of the war. Hermione smiled at the painting of a woman with a severe tight bun and read the words on the plaque below the frame: ‘Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts.’

‘I still can’t believe she’s gone,’ said a voice to the right of Hermione. She glanced over smiling at Remus Lupin’s slightly shabby appearance. He was wearing dark robes loosely tied around his neck. His chestnut colored hair was a little too long and kept falling into his scarred face.

‘I know,’ Hermione murmured glancing back at the image of McGonagall who was sat upright in her chair, fast asleep.

‘Silly woman. She shouldn’t have stepped in front of me and tried to duel Dolohov,’ Remus cocked his head to the side, sighing as he looked at McGonagall’s frame. Hermione reached over and grabbed his hand without thinking.

‘You know she would have gladly done it over and over again if given the chance. If she wasn’t asleep right now, she’d tell you to stop feeling so guilty about it. Besides,’ Hermione bumped him with her shoulder, ‘you killed the bastard in the end, didn’t you?’

Remus chuckled and squeezed her hand. ‘Hermione Granger, did I hear you call someone a bastard? Why I never would have expected it from you.’

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. ‘I called Ron an arse last year too. What can I say, I’m evolving.’ She shrugged her shoulders and smiled up at him. Remus’ hand still covered her own and he looked down at her. Eyes roaming her face and he smiled sadly at her, as if looking for someone that he once knew behind the eyes. He patted her hand once before releasing it and turned away to clear his throat. Hermione’s eyebrows furrowed together in confusion wondering what she had done to made Remus react in this way. Before she could ask, a bellowing laugh echoed along the walls from behind them and even before turning, Hermione knew it was Ron’s laugh. A laugh that she hadn’t heard in months.

Turning towards the sound, Hermione saw Ron leaning against a desk in a small office across the long hallway. He was talking to a girl with long blonde hair and when she turned her head, Hermione saw a long gash along her neck. Lavender Brown tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and gazed up at Ron with a wide smile spreading across her flushed face. Hermione saw her reach out towards him and placed her hand on his upper arm, laughing and shoving him away from her desk. He laughed loudly again and Hermione waited for the pang of jealousy to take hold, but nothing happened. As she watched the two of them, she noticed the way Ron’s eyes lit up at something Lavender had said and she couldn’t remember the last time he looked at her that way. Remus stood beside her and glanced sideways at Hermione.

‘You okay?’ He asked quietly and she turned to him, smiling slightly.

‘Yeah,’ Hermione answered and she turned back towards the couple in front of her. The couple standing inside a small office without a care in the world, laughing over nothing yet everything. Two people who were brought back together and didn’t even realize the significance of this very moment. ‘I just want him to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.’

‘You will be sooー’

‘Hermione!’ Kingsley called out, cutting whatever Remus was saying off. Tall and statuesque, it was easy to see why Kingsley became the new Minister of Magic. He parted the crowd easily to reach Hermione and Remus and shook both their hands when he reached them. ‘How have you been? I’ve seen Harry and Ron weekly during their training but I haven’t seen hide nor hair of you.’

‘I’ve been well. I’ve been busy getting ready for the reopening of Hogwarts. I’m excited to go back and finish up my last year,’ Hermione responded and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Remus shift uncomfortably.

‘Have you seen Ron today? He should be around here somewhere. He always seems to be down in the reception area.’

Hermione looked towards the office where Ron was turning to leave. She could hear him say ‘see you!’ when he left the office, not bothering to look around before he headed towards the lifts to go to the Auror office. Lavender returned to her work with a faint smile across her face. Kingsley looked towards the office Hermione was gazing at before turning his attention to Remus with raised eyebrows. Briefly, Remus shook his head and frowned.

‘Well, I should probably go. I don’t want to interrupt your meeting,’ Remus went to leave and waved goodbye but before he stepped away, Hermione stopped him. She didn’t know why, but she wanted him there when Kingsley talked to her about her parents. It wasn’t as if she was expecting bad news, but she didn’t know _what_ to expect. With her hand on his arm in a fierce grip, Hermione turned back towards Kingsley who looked quickly between the pair of them. Sharply, he turned to Remus who Hermione felt tense up under her grasp.

‘So when can I get my parents?’ she asked. Kingsley stared at Remus for a moment longer before slowly turning towards Hermione with an odd expression.

‘What?’ he questioned as if confused about who stood in front of him.

‘My parents? When can I go and see them? Your letter to me last week said that you talked to the Prime Minister of Australia,’ Hermione quirked an eyebrow at Kingsley’s strange gaze. ‘Is any of this ringing a bell?’

Remus coughed and Kingsley appeared to have come out of a daze. With his eyes on Remus, he explained in a low monotone voice.

‘The Australian PM said they have located your parents. They’d like you to take an International Portkey out to meet them and lift the spell. As they don’t know the exact spell you used on them, they don’t want to do something that could cause irreversible damage to their memory,’ peering back towards Hermione, Kingsley smiled softly. ‘You’re leaving next week. It would have been sooner, but the paperwork for the Portkey always seems to take forever and I thought you might like to get their house ready for their arrival.’

For what felt like the first time in a long time, Hermione sighed in relief. It had taken over a year for the Australian Ministry of Magic to locate her parents as they had moved from Melbourne to Perth to open a new dental practice. As well as the memory charm Hermione placed on them, she cast a secrecy spell to ensure that if they ever decided to move to a new place, they hid their trail well. She was afraid without it, Death Eaters would find them. However, she didn’t think about how challenging it would be to find them once the war was over and they could come out of hiding.

Before she realized what she was doing, Hermione threw her arms around Kingsley and cried, ‘Thank you, thank you.’ Kingsley’s booming laugh filled the hallway and he patted her on the back.

‘You’re so welcome, MーHermione,’ his voice sounded thick with emotion.

Hermione pulled away and brushed away the tears on her cheeks. Remus stood to the side and when she turned to him, he walked forward and put his arms around her.

‘I know how hard it’s been for you without them. You’ll get them back so soon,’ he whispered and kissed the top of her head. She nodded before turning her back on both men to wipe at her face once more. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the portraits along the wall again and saw Minerva straight backed in her chair looking down at Hermione. The old professor sternly looked down her spectacles before she winked, stood up and walked out of the frame.

‘I have to get back upstairs, Hermione. I promised that I’d look over the new legislation from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures before the end of the day,’ Remus stiffened and both Hermione and Kingsley noticed the tension in his shoulders. ‘I’m working on moving some people around, Remus. Unfortunately this job is still bureaucratic and there are still a lot of people with reservations about things they don’t understand.’ Kingsley placed a hand on Remus’ shoulder, squeezed it once and turned away to head to the lifts at the end of the corridor.

‘He’s right, you know. The war may be over but we still have a lot of prejudice to fight,’ Hermione insisted and Remus nodded not quite looking at her. ‘Where were you off to before my problems so rudely interrupted your day?’ He smirked at her.

‘A welcome interruption, but I was off to see Tonks. Andromeda is watching Teddy and I thought I’d surprise Tonks with lunch,’ Hermione looked around for food that he might have had stashed away. ‘Ah, well, I remembered that I don’t cook so it’s safer for the both of us to go out for lunch.’

Chuckling softly, Hermione and Remus walked past the statue of a wizard and witch, a house elf, goblin, and centaur standing together as equals—something that caused controversy when Kingsley had it erected—towards the lifts at the other end of the atrium. It was now close to 11:30 and the atrium was nearly empty. Interdepartmental envelopes flew through the air and there was a small laugh from the receptionist at the check-in desk who was reading _The Quibbler_ by the fireplaces.

‘Do you mind if I go up with you? I haven’t been to the office since Harry and Ron first started,’ she declared, surprised that it had almost been a year since the boys had started Auror training. Pressing the button to call the lift, Remus shook his head and did a mock bow to allow her into the empty lift first when the doors opened.

‘What floor is it on again?’ she hesitated over the list of numbers along the panel before Remus pressed the ‘2’ on his side. However, instead of going up to the second floor, the lift creaked loudly, screeching along the tracks, before it started to fall. Hermione shrieked and Remus cried out ‘ _Arresto Momentum!_ ’ It stopped as quickly as it started. It was almost as if nothing had happened as it smoothly stopped and the cool woman overhead announced, ‘Level Nine, Department of Mysteries.’

Shaking, Hermione looked at Remus who looked as terrified as she felt. The doors opened slowly and everything looked exactly as it had three years before. The black-tiled walls were bare with no windows and no doors, apart from the door at the end of the hallway. She shuddered and as her and Remus stepped out onto level nine, the torches along the wall lit up with a blue-white light.

‘Hermione,’ Remus said shakily, ‘let’s go. I don’t like this. We shouldn’t be down here.’

Hermione nodded. Transfixed by the door at the end of the hallway that she knew would lead to a circular room with doors all along the walls that would spin and spin and spin.

‘Hermione,’ Remus said sharply, shaking her from her gaze towards the door. She turned back towards Remus who stood in front of the opposite lift they came down. In his hand, he gripped his wand tightly and looked around the dark hallway as if expecting someone to come forward and start hexing them. Hermione reached into her bag and withdrew her own wand with shaking hands. They stood in front of the lift silently waiting for it to get to their floor, both looking over their shoulders every few seconds. Then, she heard a whisper. It was faint, as if someone had spoken from the far end of the corridor.

‘Hello?’ she turned around and lifted her wand in the direction of the dark door. Remus shifted next to her, lighting his wand and bringing it forward in front of them. They were alone, completely alone, but Hermione felt as if there was something there calling towards her. She stepped forward but Remus’ hand closed around her forearm.

‘What the hell are you doing?’ he hissed, fear evident in his voice. Freeing her arm from his grasp, she continued to walk forward with her wand high.

‘You don’t hear that? There are voices,’ and the night of her fifth year sprang to mind as she moved towards the voices like Harry while Remus shouted at her to come back and not move forward. The black door stood in front of her now and the voice was more clear than it had been before. It was saying her name. It was calling out to her and even though everything she had ever read said not to move forward, even though she recalled Harry explaining Arthur Weasley’s ‘ _never trust something that can think for itself if you can’t see it’s brain_ ,’ she grasped the handle and opened the door. She could hear Remus’ running footsteps behind her and he turned her around to face him.

‘What are you doing? We shouldn’t be down here, Hermione. What are you thinking? Haven’t you noticed that there are no Unspeakables down here? Don’t you think that’s odd?’ he gasped, his eyes looking into the circular room with panic etched across his face. While she had noticed that no one was around, Hermione hadn’t really given it much thought. All she knew was that she could hear that voice calling her once more and she stepped into the room, walking across to the third identical door to her right where the voice could be heard, and opened it to reveal a stadium with an archway at its center.

To her left, Remus stepped forward to stand beside her. His hand gripping his wand so tightly that his knuckles were white. It was the room where his best friend died in front of him, where he had to comfort the son of his other dead best friend. It was the room where he lost everything … almost everything. Tonks lived yet almost didn’t survive. For Hermione it was a place that officially started the war for her. The place where she got her first battle scars and dueled with Death Eaters. It was a place of both of their nightmares, however, something kept calling Hermione back. Someone kept calling her back.

She stepped into the room and walked down the stairs towards the dais. From behind her, she heard the door close and Remus telling her to not go any further. His voice was shaking, and when Hermione turned around as she reached the last step, she saw him white faced at the top of the stairs. Her footsteps echoed around the room and the archway stood in front of her. Whether it was because she had stepped closer to the dais or he suddenly realized where they were, Remus ran down the steps and stood next to Hermione.

‘Do you hear him too?’ she turned to look at Remus with tears in her eyes. Her wand still in her hand and she looked at the veil that whipped back and forth in the archway.

‘Do I hear who?’ Remus whispered and looked at Hermione curiously. She had never told anyone outside of Healer Daniels about Sirius but she knew that Remus would understand. He had to understand.

‘I don’t understand. He died. What the hell is wrong with me?’ she mumbled and took a deep breath.

‘Who are you hearing, Hermione?’ Remus asked and stepped closer to her. He looked slightly panicked, as if he needed her answer so desperately.

‘Sirius Black,’ she murmured and turned back towards the billowing veil, tears falling freely. Her wand tapped against her leg and light blue sparks flew out the end. ‘Always Sirius Black. I’ve been hearing him for months. Years really.’

‘What does he say?’

‘ _Semper Vester_ ,’ Hermione choked out and her wand grew warm in her palm. Looking down, she noticed a golden light erupting out of her wand towards the veil that shimmered once before turning into a black door like all the others in the Department of Mysteries. Both her and Remus stared transfixed at the door and watched as the silver knob turned and out walked Sirius Black.


End file.
